IMU AKA I Miss You – The Inside Out is a brand started by the former captain of the University of Michigan Men’s Basketball team David Merritt. David approached me about his brand and his message a couple months back about his brand and upon checking out his brand and his mission I was extremely impressed. It’s always nice to see a brand take what they say a step further and actually live what they preach and IMU is definitely a brand that practices what they preach.

Take a second and check out the interview with CEO/Owner David Merritt to get a real feel of what IMU is about! Also if you dig what you see use coupon code “IAMTHETREND” for 10% off your order now through Dec 11th.

Website: IMU | The Inside Out

Could you start off with the basics (name, age, position with the company, favorite ice cream, etc)

My name is David Merritt, former captain for the University of Michigan Men’s Basketball team, and now CEO & President of I Miss You, Inc. & The IMU Brand. Darn that’s a long title, forget the captain part. I really like Rice Krispie treats and enjoy defying norms.

One thing that immediately struck me about your brand is the positivity behind it. Could you talk a bit about the inspiration behind your brand name and why you started IMU?

I got a text message about a year ago that said, “IMU.” I had never seen it before but immediately knew it meant “I Miss You.” Over the next few months, God blessed me with a vision to take those three simple letters and do something special with them. I started IMU because I believe in its message of spreading happiness. It’s not just about the clothing. Don’t get me wrong, I believe we work extremely hard to offer the highest quality product and design. However, IMU is more than a t-shirt company. It’s a call action to appreciate the people and experiences that make us who we are. And that’s why all of our designs have positive messages and meaning behind them.

You’ve done an amazing job packaging your entire brand. From the actual packaging that the shirts come in, to your website and product photos absolutely no corners have been cut. What was the thought and inspiration behind doing this instead of working your way up?

IMU was a “brand” before it was anything else. A lot of apparel companies usually start because a designer has a couple of designs and wants to come out with a line. That wasn’t quite the case for us. We first created IMU with the type of message we wanted to portray, and then decided that clothing was the best avenue for us to spread this message. With that, we wanted to create a brand that exhibited professionalism and excellence in everything we do. Our mission is to make our customers feel special every experience they have with IMU. As a result, we go above and beyond in all that we do to reach this mission, from our shirt quality and print, to our innovative packaging.

So what do you think makes IMU stick out from other brands and frankly why should people spend their money on your line?

I believe IMU sticks out because of our unique message, clothing, service, and specifically our innovative community service component. We recognize that we are so special as individuals in large part due to the people and experiences that surround us. Therefore, it is important for us to show others that we care for and appreciate them by giving back. Every IMU employee is required to give 8-10 hours of community service per month. It’s really about doing whatever we can to improve communities. In return, each t-shirt that we sell represents an hour of community service from our customers. So here’s how it works, if you purchase an IMU t-shirt and then go out in do an hour of community service, you receive 20% off your next purchase.

I think people should spend money on IMU because of our message and the IMU experience. It’s about making a statement. We will take care of you all of the way! In addition, we do clothing extremely well. Our creative and unique designs combined with our high quality t-shirt and print. As you said, no corners have been cut.

What have been some of the hardest things to overcome when starting a clothing brand?

One of the hardest things to get accustomed to has been learning to deal with people and different companies. If you’re not careful, people will try to take advantage of you. So, you have to learn how to negotiate and stand your ground. Another thing is dealing with limited human resources. We come up with new ideas everyday, but we really have to figure out what we can handle because we don’t want to be spread too thin. You can’t do everything, so you have to consider what’s most important.

Did you have any brands that you looked up to or modeled yourself after when starting IMU?

Johnny Cupcakes. I mean what can I say? The guy is a staple in the industry and has been so successful because he has truly created a “brand”. Everything he does is consistent. That’s what we are trying to do with IMU.

What can we expect to see from IMU in the upcoming year?

A lot of projects are in the works. We should be coming out with some new products/lines in the upcoming months, which may even include some involvement from professional athletes. We have been fortunate to get Antonio Gates, Pro Bowl Tight End for the San Diego Chargers, and Steve Breaston, Wide Receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, to actively rock our line. Also, we look to expand our community service component by having more events to improve our communities.

Any last minute shout outs or areas we didnt cover?

Shout out to you my friend for doing this interview. IMU really appreciates it and I AM THE TREND is doing a wonderful job keeping all of us in the industry up on the latest happenings.

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